


never dreamed i'd meet somebody like you

by starboykeith



Series: blue neighbourhood [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, mermaid keith, merman Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 16:26:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11085414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starboykeith/pseuds/starboykeith
Summary: Shiro wakes to a clear blue sky.That isn't right, he thinks.





	never dreamed i'd meet somebody like you

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Никогда не думал, что встречу такого, как ты](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13289619) by [lilizwingli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilizwingli/pseuds/lilizwingli)



> so i totally missed mermay but whatever 
> 
> i accidentally finished this while lying in bed and i actually got OUT of bed to proofread and publish this. appreciate my sacrifice
> 
> happy pride everyone ♥!!
> 
> title is from wicked game by ursine vulpine

Shiro wakes to a clear blue sky.  
  
That isn't right, he thinks.  
  
He turns his head very slightly and moans weakly with the pain of it - his head feels _full_ , heavy, and once Shiro's turned he can't summon the strength to shift back, so he stares at the water rippling beside him and tries to remember what happened.  
  
The ocean laps at his toes - not lapping, Shiro realises suddenly, _cascading_  over him, and he breathes in sharply, realising as well that he isn't on the beach, he's in a _c_ _ave_  - and who knows how long he might have lain here until the ocean covered him up and took him.  
  
"Oh," comes a soft voice from beside him. "You're awake."  
  
Shiro would jerk in fright, but he can't move. "Who," he starts, and promptly begins hacking up a lung.  
  
Gentle hands turn him onto his side, and Shiro coughs up seawater until he thinks he might be sick with the force of it, face red and tears streaming from his eyes.  
  
He becomes aware of someone bobbing in the water beside him, close enough to reach out and touch if Shiro had the strength. He blinks the water from his eyes and squints into the pool of water taking up most of the cave.  
  
"Who are you?" he says. Soulful purple eyes blink back at him.  
  
"Keith," says the man. "What's your name?"  
  
Keith rubs a hand over the dark hair soaked almost flat to his skull, and as he does so Shiro notices his _ears_  - elongated and _pointed_ , like something out of a fairytale.  
  
Or something out of a horror story.  
  
"Shiro," he answers automatically. " _What_  are you?"  
  
Keith looks offended. "The person who saved you from drowning," he says tightly.  
  
Shiro remembers _sinking_ , remembers watching a blue expanse widening as he fell deeper and deeper, arms and legs frozen, mouth tight shut and fighting the urge to scream, to call for help -  
  
"Thank you," he blurts out, and with it remembers his manners. "I - didn't mean to offend you. I'm probably just hallucinating."  
  
"Hallucinating," Keith repeats with interest, and then he dives under the water. Shiro almost shouts in alarm, but then where Keith's legs should flip up as he swims down, there's - a tail.  
  
A long, crimson-purple tail, sparkling and catching the light and flinging a thousand shining water droplets everywhere, and Shiro can do nothing but stare in awe.  
  
He'd heard tales of the merpeople who inhabited the oceans surrounding this island, of course, but like many a foolish tourist had ignored the stories and warnings of merfolk dragging humans down under the sea and devouring them, stealing fish from the fishermen's very nets, causing trouble with the coast guard when they pretended to be humans helplessly drawn out into the sea, drawing in new victims.  
  
Hunk had been fascinated. Shiro hadn't really paid attention, and now he really wishes he had.  
  
Keith surfaces with a grin that shows rows upon rows of needle-sharp little teeth, and now Shiro knows the truth, he can see the inhumanity in Keith's face - the too-large eyes, the unnatural colour of his irises, the unearthly glow of his skin.  
  
"Are you hallucinating now, Shiro?" Keith asks playfully, and Shiro just stares, hoping for another glimpse of Keith's tail beating under the water.  
  
"I don't know," Shiro says honestly. Keith rests his hands on the rock, just beside Shiro's arm, and Shiro looks at the webbing between Keith's fingers, nails like knives extending from them. Keith retracts them with a snap, and then he reaches to touch Shiro's face.  
  
Shiro flinches, and Keith scowls at him. "If I wanted to kill you," he says, matter-of-fact, "I would have done it by now." Shiro allows the touch the second time Keith reaches for him. "When you were drowning," Keith continues conversationally, "while I dragged you in here, while you were unconscious - do you really think so little of us? We do not encourage undue suffering."  
  
_Undue suffering_ , Shiro thinks hysterically. _And what if Keith had decided it was due?_  
  
"You brought me in here?"  
  
The question brings a flush to the pallor of Keith's skin. "Yes," he says, somewhat stiffly.  
  
"You saved me," Shiro marvels.  
  
"Yes, we've established that," Keith says, but he gives a reluctant smile. "You're hurt."  
  
Shiro isn't sure exactly _where_  - he aches in so many places it's impossible to tell where something really has left a mark - but he glances down the best he can anyway.  
  
"It's mainly your back," Keith continues. "I didn't catch you in time - you almost hit the rocks. And your face, too," he adds.  
  
"Oh," Shiro says, lacking anything else to say. The tide is in, obscuring the mouth of the cave and creeping closer towards where Shiro is laying, but Shiro knows somehow that Keith chose this spot carefully. The tide will not take him today.  
  
"I've been training with the druids," Keith says hesitantly. Shiro has no idea what a druid is, and _really_  regrets not paying more attention to the folklore. "I can heal your wounds."  
  
"My _wounds_ ," Shiro says, huffing a laugh.  
  
"Some could scar, if not treated," Keith says shortly. Shiro's heart sinks.  
  
"From the rocks?" he asks, and Keith nods.  
  
"Shouldn't you have received training to be so far out in the sea? The rocks can be lethal."  
  
Shiro sighs. "I'm not sure what happened," he confesses, and it's true - he can't remember a thing before the sight of black depths swallowing him whole.  
  
Keith looks sympathetic for a moment. "So," he says. "Would you like me to heal you?"  
  
There's a part of Shiro that shies away from such ambiguity - the unknown druids and Keith's magic and the mere fact of Keith's existence, a _mermaid_  - but another, bigger part that screams curiosity. He's fascinated by outer space and the depths of the ocean - may as well add the supernatural to his list of obscure interests.  
  
"Okay," Shiro says.  
  
Keith's smile is wide, and he smooths his wet hair behind his ears. "I've never practised on a live one before," he says excitedly, and Shiro feels a stab of fear. He's not one for risks or dangerous lack of judgement, but - he just wants to _see_. How many other people can say they've received healing magic from the hands of a mermaid?  
  
"Great," Shiro says, attempting to match Keith's enthusiasm. Keith ducks low in the water, completely submerged for a moment before returning with a handful of long sea grasses.  
  
"I'll be back," he promises, and this time when he dips down Shiro can't see his shadow moving underwater. It makes him feel strangely abandoned, and he's relieved when Keith emerges, bobbing up to spill handfuls of plants and shells on the rock surface beside Shiro.  
  
"So," Shiro says, a little nervously. "What now?"  
  
"There's a paste I have to make," Keith says, and Shiro's gaze is drawn to his mouth as Keith bites his lip in concentration. "And then a spell." Shiro must look as apprehensive as he's feeling, because Keith looks up from selecting materials and rushes to reassure him, "I'm top of my class."  
  
Shiro can't help his curiosity - there's a whole other _world_  down there, and he has the opportunity to learn about it. Keith looks pleased when Shiro asks, though.  
  
"Do you go to school?"  
  
Keith shakes his head. "I've graduated," he says, and Shiro is full of more questions about the underwater education system. "These are higher level classes I'm taking - healing, fighting, swimming - "  
  
"Swimming?" Shiro interrupts. "You don't need to learn to _swim_ , do you?"  
  
"Humans don't need to learn to run, but you have classes for that," Keith retorts. He's crushed most of the ingredients together now, making a thick green paste that smells faintly of mint.  
  
"How do _you_  know?"  
  
Keith taps his temple. "I just do."  
  
"Have you spoken to many humans?" Shiro asks, and as soon as it leaves his mouth he regrets his accusatory tone.  
  
"Shiro," Keith says knowingly. "Are you jealous?"  
  
To his horror, Shiro finds himself flushing pink. "No," he says uselessly. Keith's smiling at him.  
  
"Can you lay on your stomach?" he asks. Shiro focuses for a moment, but his head doesn't feel dizzy and heavy anymore, and it's easy enough despite his aches and pains to roll over onto his stomach, careful of the jagged edges of the rock.  
  
"Alright," Keith says, and he sounds apprehensive.  
  
"Is it bad?" Shiro asks, looking at Keith over his shoulder. Keith had said earlier that some would scar without treatment, but Shiro isn't feeling any more pain from his back than he is anywhere else.  
  
That is, until Keith touches him.  
  
Shiro sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth, freezing completely still and squeezing his eyes shut, forcing himself to breathe in and out, in and out -  
  
"Shiro?" comes Keith's voice, flat and calm, and Shiro appreciates that he isn't outwardly panicking, because he doesn't think he could handle it.  
  
"I'm here," Shiro says. "It's - it's fine."  
  
It isn't so bad the second time Keith lowers his hands, tracing gently over the skin before drawing away to cover his fingers with the paste. Keith's hands are webbed, but they don't feel strange as he starts smoothing over Shiro's back, the paste cool and somewhat numbing - the pain starts receding almost immediately, and Shiro wonders if perhaps it's some kind of poultice.  
  
He winces now and then but it doesn't hurt enough to make him cry out again, and Keith hums as he works, something Shiro doesn't recognise. He catches odd words, guttural noises that he guesses are native to the underwater world, and it's so soothing Shiro almost finds himself drifting to sleep.  
  
"Shiro," Keith says, and he sounds far away. " _Shiro_. I'm done."  
  
"Oh," Shiro says, blinking and raising his head from his arms. Keith's doing the mermaid equivalent of treading water, moving back and forth. He seems impatient, and Shiro wonders if there's somewhere he ought to be, instead of making time with a human. "Was that a human song you were singing?"  
  
Keith looks pleased. "That was the spell," he says, voice full of warmth. "It did its job; everything absorbed."  
  
"Absorbed?" Shiro asks, bemused.  
  
"Did you think I was going to leave it on you?"  
  
"But - how did it - " Shiro struggles for a minute, and Keith grins at him.  
  
"Magic."  
  
"Magic isn't - " Shiro starts, and then remembers who he's talking to.  
  
"Where's your imagination, Shiro?" Keith asks. His hair is beginning to dry, curling up at the edges, and it's a good look on him.  
  
Shiro rolls his eyes. "You know what's real? Science."  
  
Keith pouts. "So you don't believe in magic, aliens, luck - "  
  
"I believe in aliens."  
  
"Not luck?"  
  
Shiro laughs. "I make my own luck."  
  
"You know what _is_  good luck, though?" Keith asks. Shiro waits, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Do tell."  
  
"It's good luck," Keith says playfully, pausing for effect, "to kiss a mermaid."  
  
Shiro's heart stutters in his chest, and he fights the blush rising to his cheeks. "Is it, now?" he asks, pretending to consider.  
  
"Well, I could just drag you under and have my way with you," Keith says, eyes sparkling with mirth, and _oh God, Keith really does want to kiss him_.  
  
"And what does that entail?"  
  
Keith taps his chin thoughtfully. "Devouring you whole," he says sweetly, flashing his teeth. Shiro's smile freezes for a moment before Keith starts laughing. "Shiro," he says plaintively, "I would never do that to you."  
  
"Thanks," Shiro says dryly.  
  
"Everyone knows if you eat something whole you can't _savour_  it," Keith starts, grinning, and Shiro kisses him just to shut him up, pulling Keith closer with a hand on the back of his neck.  
  
Keith surges up, opening his mouth and pressing in closer, and Shiro thinks for a moment of all those teeth he'd seen earlier but it's fine, licking into Keith's mouth and relishing the tug of Keith's hands in his hair, his own hands wet where he's grasping at Keith's shoulders.  
  
They break apart, gasping, and Keith's smirk is a mile wide.  
  
"I think that's enough luck for a week, at most," he says, teasing.  
  
"Only a week?" Shiro asks, smiling helplessly. "I suppose I'll have to come back."  
  
Something changes between them then: perhaps a realisation of their circumstances - from two different worlds - or the fact that Keith was the one who had brought Shiro to this cave in the first place, and Shiro isn't even sure where he could meet Keith again.  
  
" _Will_  you come back?" Keith asks suddenly, quieter, all trace of joking gone. Shiro hesitates. "You're a tourist, aren't you?"  
  
Keith sounds so disappointed that Shiro rushes to reassure him. "No," he says. "My friend and I - we're here for research. It's a six month placement."  
  
"Six moons," Keith breathes, eyes wide, and then he breaks into a brilliant smile. "So - you will return?"  
  
"I mean, I've got a lot of studying to do," Shiro says, mouth twisting in an attempt not to laugh.  
  
"You could always study me instead," Keith says, voice a little low, and Shiro flushes at the look in Keith's dark eyes.  
  
He sighs dramatically. "I guess I could make time," he says, and the smile he gives Keith is slow and dark and brings a little flush to Keith's cheeks too.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment if you enjoyed, and you can find me on twitter at twitter.com/starboysheith and tumblr at starboykeith.tumblr.com !


End file.
